Fire and the Dragon

A/N: Thanks again to my wonderful readers and reviewers. The name is pronounced: PER-SEPH-O-KNEE...goddess of the underworld..lol...but still a pretty name. Well, this is the last official chapter, only the epilogue remains...thanks a lot.

















Ch. 23 Late Nights and Propositions



Severus awoke, yet again, to the sound of baby Persephone crying. He groaned and rolled over, “Does that child never sleep at night?” he wondered aloud. He was about to cast a silencing charm over his room when a new sound grabbed his attention.



“Shhhh..please go to sleep Persephone..please.” Hermione’s sobs made Severus hop out of bed and approach the scene. Sitting on the side of her bed, rocking the baby, and crying her eyes out was Hermione, visibly exhausted.



He walked up to her and laid a hand on her shaking shoulder. She started and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry, Severus. I just can’t get her to sleep. I’ve tried everything, I’m just so tired and I think she hates me.” She began to wail.



Holding his arms out, he motioned for Hermione to hand the baby over. As soon as she was in his arms, the child quieted. Severus sat beside Hermione.



“This child does not hate you, Hermione. You are exhausted and stressed, who wouldn’t be after 6 weeks of nights like these, and your daughter is feeding off of your emotions.” Her tears began to slow as she watched Severus nervously hold her child.



Hermione was beginning to doze off, just as her daughter was. Severus eased his way up to the top of the bed. “Damn this round thing.” He mumbled. Hermione snuggled in next to him, Persephone was in the middle. They were all asleep within seconds.



When he awoke the next morning, Severus blinked his eyes. He was not in his bed. He rolled over to see if the two girls were still asleep. His arm met empty bed when he felt for them.



A soft noise drew his attention to the baby’s room. He got up and followed the sweet, intoxicating sound. He realized as he got closer to the door, that the noise was Hermione. His heart swelled with sudden emotion.



He leaned against the doorframe and watched her rocking the baby and singing her to sleep. He smiled and walked to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I never knew you were so adept at lullabies, Hermione.”



She looked to him and smiled back, “Oh, I’m terrible.” She laughed, “but she doesn’t seem to mind.” Severus helped her out of the rocking chair and Hermione lay the baby down in her crib.



They went back into the sitting area and had the house elves bring them something for breakfast. They ate in companionable silence.



After breakfast, they decided to shower. Sometime during their shower, Headmistress McGonagall knocked on Hermione’s door. Hermione pulled on a robe and answered.



McGonagall merely wanted to inform Hermione that the Weasley and Potter families would be visiting later in the day and had requested a lunch with Hermione and the new baby. Hermione reluctantly agreed.



Severus wanted to be by her side during this little gathering. Hermione insisted that she would be fine and should she need his help, she would find a way to call for him. He was not happy about this arrangement…the thought of her alone with the Weasley matriarch was menacing.



“OHHH Hermione, she is soo beautiful.” Molly Weasley held the baby girl and tickled her chin. The boys, after seeing the new arrival, had left the women on their own. Ginny patted Hermione’s hand, knowing how overbearing her mother could be.



“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” Hermione said, quietly. Mrs. Weasley handed the baby back to her and hugged her ‘adopted’ daughter close. “I know she was not planned, or even brought about by the best circumstances, but she is lovely and happy just the same.”



Hermione almost began to cry, but had regained enough control to bite it back. She rubbed the brown hair on her baby’s head. Molly shook her head, “it amazes me that the child hasn’t got a single strain of red in her hair. With Ron, and the rest it was noticeable right away.”



She clapped a hand over her mouth as she mentioned Ronald, she apologized immediately to Hermione. “It’s ok. That is her father, though not her daddy, I am beginning to come to terms with it. Besides,” she said as she gazed into her baby’s eyes, “a gift came from that horrible night, one that I would not give back for the world.”



After the women left, Hermione and Persephone laid down for a nap together. Severus came back in from his stroll through the castle to find them cuddled on the bed. He smiled and covered them with a fuzzy blanket before returning to his office.



It was late in the afternoon when Hermione woke up. The first thing she saw was her daughter, wide awake, staring at her with a smile. She smiled back at her and took her to get a diaper change.



After dinner, which they took in the great hall, and a renewed round of ogles at the baby by the women of the castle, they retired to their rooms, tired and ready to relax.



When baby Persephone finally went down for a good stretch, Hermione and Severus sat by the fireplace and cuddled. Severus was gently kissing her head. “So, my dear,” he purred. “Did the doctor give you a good bill of health?”



Hermione slanted her eyes at his poor attempt at innuendo. “Yes, he did.” She said casually, trying to force him to be direct at what he wanted, and what she wanted as well, but refused to give in first.



He began to slowly massage her legs, “what about you, Hermione, are you ready for another round of passion?” His touch was beginning to create heat in her core. She closed her eyes and relished in it.



Severus turned her head and pressed his lips against hers. It wasn’t long before they were in the middle of a heated snogging. Severus stood up and pulled Hermione with him. They removed each other’s clothing as they made their way to the bed.



Each touch, every kiss, was a new exploration of one another. They had been together before, yes, but this was different. This was a possessive claiming of the other.



Hermione pushed Severus onto the bed and crawled in beside him. Her hands found his throbbing organ and she began to slowly pump him up and down. He let his head drop back and closed his eyes, a slow moan escaping his lips.



As she was giving attention to his penis, he reached under her and began to spelunk in her folds, dipping his fingers in her opening and rubbing circles around her clit.



She lost all concentration and he knew she was close when she forgot about him completely. It wasn’t long before he had her creaming and calling his name.



When she had calmed down a bit, she straddled his hips, positioned him and lowered herself onto his pleasure stick.



“Oh gods, you feel so good.” He murmured. She began to shift her hips in circles, filling all of him inside of her. Severus grabbed her ass and helped her move in the ways that made him crazy.



Their movements soon became erratic and they were both toppling over the edge together. She collapsed on top of him and whispered, “I love you.” In his ear.





She moved to lay beside him in the dark. He held her close to his side for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he leaned in, his breath tickling her ear, and said, “Marry me, Hermione.”



Hermione was taken back; she sat up and looked at him with awe. He joined her sitting. “I can’t give you the happily ever after, we both have too much history for that. I am not a pleasant sort of man. I do not want you to accept and expect a happy delusion. We will make each other miserable at times.”



She took his words in, still shocked. “Then why?” He cupped her face in his hands. “Because I love you, always will. I want to marry you.”



Hermione was crying. She took his hands from her face and held them. Looking him straight in the eyes she whispered, “ok”



“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Severus leaned in to hear her better. She took a deep breath, “Yes, I’ll marry you, Severus.” He smiled and pressed his lips to her, genuinely happy for the first time in his life.